Sermon Tone Analysis

RECORD

This morning as we continue on in our series Major Messages From the Minor Prophets we come to another of the 8th century B.C. prophets, Micah

Micah grew up in the southern kingdom of Judah around the same time as the prophet Isaiah, somewhere around 740 B.C. when both kingdoms were experiencing a time of great economic affluence and influence but at the same time had fallen to new depths of spiritual depravity

While we don’t know much about Micah it is presumed that he was born to a peasant family from a small village called Moresheth close to where Isaiah grew up and so we actually see some similarities in their books

Unlike many of the other Minor Prophets though, Micah’s book doesn’t follow a constant theme

The book of Micah is not so much a transcript of a single message that God sent him with but is more like an interpretation of several of his messages

Most theologians split the book up into 3 of what they call “oracles”

Oracle #1 is from 1:2-2:13 and deals with God’s impending judgement as well as the future restoration of the nation

Oracle #2 is from 3:1-5:15 and deals with God’s indictment against the leaders of the 2 kingdoms and the future hope of a future leader that will restore God’s reign

Oracle #3 is from 6:1-7:20 and it deals with God’s lawsuit against the 2 kingdoms and how in the future God will ultimately triumph

So there you go, there’s your 3 part sermon on the book of Micah now let’s close with a song…and if you believe that there’s a bridge I’d like to sell you

While what I just gave you is a very general overview of the book of Micah, this morning I want to get deeper and see what it might speak to us by taking a look at something very simple and discreet that the Holy Spirit pointed out to me from the very first verse in the book

Micah 1:1

What stood out to me from that verse is that the prophetic ministry of Micah spanned the rule of 3 different kings of the southern kingdom

That in and of itself but when you realize that the book is a summary of 3 different messages of the prophet it got me wondering if there was any kind of correlation and so this morning I want to give you a bit of a history lesson as well as show you how these messages are still very applicable to us today

Now as we already mentioned the first oracle is about God’s impending judgement, listen to Micah’s words,

Micah

Now if you’re not familiar with the context of what is going on you might not realize that Micah is talking here about the improper worship practices of God’s people

Let me simplify it for you, they were doing things that they were not supposed to be doing in places where they weren’t supposed to be doing them

God had set up a system of worship and it revolved around his holy city Jerusalem and His holy temple

Now the first of the kings to reign during Micah was Jotham so let’s see what the Word says about him

2 Kings 15:32-38

Jotham was a good and Godly king but this one thing he did wrong, he failed to correct the false worship practices of the people

Now you might ask, ‘Is it really that big of a deal that they worshipped here instead of there and that they were even bringing in practices from other nations as part of their worship?’

Well you tell me...

Exodus 20:4

I think that God believes it’s a big deal, I also think that even though under the new covenant the sacrifices have been abolished and the worship has changed, God still takes it very serious

Exodus 20:4-

In Jesus is speaking to the Samaritan woman at the well and she asks Him a question,

God is looking for more than a few songs on Sunday morning as our worship routine, He is looking for people who will worship Him, with their intellect, with their emotions, with how they live their lives

I wish that I could say more on this and maybe another day I will but we are supposed to worship the Father, through access made possible by the Son and in the Holy Spirit

And remember God is a jealous God and He WILL NOT share His worship with anything or anyone else!

Now the second oracle is God’s indictment against the leaders,

Micah 3:

Yes it is true that corruption was rampant all throughout both kingdoms but as Micah points out that this failure started with the leaders

The second king to reign during Micah’s ministry was Ahaz so once again let’s go back to 2 Kings and pick up where we left off with the death of Jotham

2 Kings 16:1-

2 Kings 16:

Now I could easily jump in and talk about the gross corruption of our political and legal leaders today but I’m not going to do that

Besides Peter points out in his first epistle,

-12-19

It’s time for the judgement to begin with us, for us to take a deep look within and see how we fair

Yes there is corruption in politics and it seems that such things are more and more being targeted at believers but let’s look at ourselves and make sure we are worthy of such insults and suffering so that we can be used of God for His glory

Listen also to the instructions Paul gives to Timothy about leaders in the body of Christ

1 Timothy 3:2-

Wow time is flying by here so let me get to the 3rd oracle which was God’s lawsuit against the Israel and Judah

Micah 6:1-3

Micah 6:

Now verse 8 is most often considered to be the key summary verse of this book and I would have to agree, if you only take one thing away from this sermon may it be this verse but allow me to show why it is so important as regards to the third king, Hezekiah

2 Kings 16:20

2 Kings 18:1-5

2 Kings 20:1-11

Now I want to cross reference that passage with what has to say

2 Chronicles 32:24-

Hezekiah had been a great king and done great things for God and had seen God do great things for Him but in the end he fell victim to pride and as a result, Isaiah spoke this word over him,

2 Kings 20:16-

Because of His pride He would lose everything that He was so proud of, his wealth, his family, his legacy all gone

So what does that have to do with us?

I’m glad you asked,

Philippians 2:

There is no room for pride in the life of the believer and if we don’t take the necessary steps to be humble we can be sure that God will in order that He might restore us

And so that is a summary of the book of Micah, 3 sermons in one book, AND, I guessing by looking at the time calculator in my sermon writing software that I wasn’t able to do it in one sermon either

But that’s okay because the 3 messages of Micah are just too important to rush through

That God is looking for people who will be true worshippers

That God is looking for His people to be above reproach regardless of what is happening around us, especially the leaders of His church who will be held to a higher accountability

God demands humility from His people and He will use whatever means are necessary to make it happen

Now once again allow me to close with what is often considered the most crucial passage in the book, the one that kind of summarizes Micah’s message and his heart

Let’s pray

I Surrender